Introduction
Patriarchy is conceptualized as a systemic social structure of male domination and exploitation of women across both private and public spheres, as theorized by Sylvia Walby. In Indian society, patriarchy is not monolithic; it is uniquely mediated and reinforced by institutions of caste, kinship, and religious ideology, thereby constraining women's social, legal, and economic entitlements.
1. Socio-Structural Entitlements (Caste and Kinship)
- Brahmanical Patriarchy (Uma Chakravarti): Caste purity and hierarchy are maintained through the strict regulation of female sexuality and rigid endogamy. This structurally denies women bodily autonomy, freedom of choice in marriage, and independent social mobility.
- Kinship Structures (Leela Dube): The prevailing norms of patrilineality and patrilocality construct women as transient members or paraya dhan. Consequently, women lack permanent spatial entitlements and institutionalized kinship safety nets in both their natal and marital households.
2. Material and Capability Entitlements
- Property and Land Entitlements (Bina Agarwal): The cultural and structural exclusion of women from agricultural land ownership deepens their economic vulnerability and lowers their bargaining power within the household. Despite legal reforms and state initiatives promoting joint property titles, effective control remains male-dominated.
- Invisible Labor and Capability Deprivation (Devaki Jain & Amartya Sen): Patriarchal norms naturalize unpaid domestic chores and care work as women's primary duty. Even when female labor force participation rises, it tends to be concentrated in vulnerable, informal, or unpaid family labor, reinforcing capability deprivation and restricting access to financial independence.
Conclusion
Realizing women's substantive entitlements necessitates moving beyond nominal legal rights to gender-transformative policies—such as the mandatory recording of independent land titles in records of rights—to dismantle the institutionalized nexus of patriarchal kinship and material inequality.